Izuku fell down in bed, absolutely exhausted. All Might's training regime was hardcore, left him aching and sore and unable to do anything else. He should've expected this- had expected this when he first saw the schedule, but living it was something else entirely. Not only that but Kacchan... Kacchan had been acting differently, too. The bullying stopped after the sludge villain incident, which was kinda odd at the start but not an unwelcome change of pace. Lately he seemed more distracted, though. Worried. Izuku wondered whether he was stressed about the UA entrance exam coming up.

He sighed, forcing his eyes to stay open, knowing he'd fall asleep as soon as he closed them. He still had to shower and change into his pj's before-

Ding!

Oh, it'd been a while since Izuku heard that notification... Well, guess that couldn't be helped when he hadn't been able to write the last couple of weeks, let alone post something new. His profile was slowly being pushed to the background, most likely, as inactive accounts tended to lose feeling with the site's algorithm. Izuku smiled as he reached for his phone, happy to know someone was still able to discover his work, only to see it was a private message request. Huh... That's odd. He locked his private messages a long time ago, after a wave of trolls and bots hit the website, spamming mean things.

Izuku couldn't remember when they added a feature to request private messages, though. He must've missed it since he never used that part of the fansite to begin with. Maybe they were finally able to get a decent system going after all the problems making it unusable... Izuku frowned as several screens popped up when he opened his messages, informing him of several new things they added, only confirming his earlier suspicions. He quickly tapped them away, finding out private messages were now locked behind requests as a standard spam protection measure, and tapping through to where his current request was waiting.

Private message request from LEM💥. Replying automatically accepts any future message requests. You can change the current settings in your profile preferences.
View message

Izuku was instantly on high alert when he saw the name, recognizing it from a mile away. LEM was one of his few consistent readers, always reading, liking, and commenting on everything he posted. They always left long and thoughtful comments, always praising and kind and noticing the little details others didn't. Izuku tapped view message without a second thought.

Hey, I know we don't really know each other and this is probably weird as fuck but I just wanted to ask whether you're okay? You haven't posted in a while and you're normally very strict about your schedule so. Yeah. I get if you don't wanna share anything about your life and stuff, just wanted to check in. You can ignore this if you want.

Oh my- That's- What? Izuku reread the message a couple of times, still not believing what he was seeing. Some random person on the internet was worried about him because he hadn't posted in a while..? What the fuck. Izuku could cry. He went back to check when he'd last posted something. Months. It had been months and he hadn't even realized. Of course he knew he wasn't writing as often- couldn't even if he wanted to, but months?! And someone else had actually noticed? What the hell. Izuku could feel tears pricking in his eyes, blaming the physical strain and exhaustion for his overly emotional reaction as he typed back a reply.

Omg hi hey yes I'm totally okay! I'm fine! Just really busy with school and upcoming exams and stuff and I haven't been able to write a lot in the last couple of weeks thanks for asking and checking up on me I promise I'll post something soon!!

He sent it before getting up and grabbing his stuff, making his way over to the bathroom for a shower that was gonna have to be cut short- Yes, even his showers were timed in All Might's training scheme. He didn't regret taking the time to answer to LEM though, happy to know there was someone out there thinking about him. Which...was kinda weird, wasn't it? Izuku didn't know anything about them, didn't know their age or their intentions... He should be careful when talking to strangers on the internet, even if they were nice to him- especially when they were nice to him. That didn't mean Izuku didn't read the message LEM sent back when he returned from his shower, though.

I understand, thank you for replying. I didn't message to ask for updates, just wanted to know if you were okay. You don't have to push yourself, take your time. Good luck with exams 🍀

How could he not smile at a message like that? And they continued to message like that. It was irregular, but it was there. Small chats between them growing to conversations and rants about heroes and potential story ideas. It was nice to finally be able to talk about his hobby with someone else, someone who wouldn't make fun of him for it, who liked the same things. Izuku had never experienced something quite like it before, so even if he didn't really know who LEM was on the other side, he continued talking with them despite the rules he set for himself.

Their chats were messing with his training schedule, though, since Izuku wasn't getting as much sleep as he should. It was harder to pay attention in class, but he had to power through if he wanted a shot at UA- at inheriting One For All. He had no regrets whatsoever even if he could barely keep his eyes open during the day. As long as All Might didn't know, everything would be fine. And so he shuffled through the hall, stifling a yawn as he rounded a corner, tending up when he bumped into someone.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't-" he started, only to cut himself short when he saw who he ran into. Why did it have to be Kacchan, of all people..? They were finally on better terms! Well, that is to say that Kacchan didn't bully him anymore. That the blonde actually talked to him like a normal person during group assignments, even if he was still pissed Izuku was trying for UA. "I'm so sorry Kacchan! I didn't mean to- I'll just, uhm-"

"You just gonna let that quirkless loser get away with that, Bakugou?" one of his friends asked, making Izuku tense up. Oh no...

"Keep your noisy ass out of this, extra," Kacchan snapped before turning to face Izuku. "And you. Don't fucking think you can make it into any decent high school with that shitty attitude of yours. Even if you weren't a quirkless loser, you'd never make it into UA when lazing around like you can afford to skip school, Deku. So save yourself the fucking embarrassment and don't get any funny ideas."

He shoved Izuku aside after that, making him stumble into the wall with less force than he was expecting. Izuku didn't make eye contact as Kacchan passed him, his friends giving him a few extra pushes as they snickered and followed their leader. Kacchan had told him he didn't want Izuku to apply for UA before, had threatened him with all kinds of things if he even thought of entering the entrance exam, and yet here he was, still in one piece. Yeah, Kacchan had calmed down a lot the last couple of weeks, even if he was still quick to anger. It was less violent, less explosive. More like a barking dog behind a fence. Scary but harmless.

Izuku couldn't afford to waste time thinking about him, not if he wanted to get into UA. Because Kacchan was right about one thing, he needed to step up his game! The entrance exam would be there soon and he still had a large chunk of beach to clean up!

xxxxx

Message from I.M.HERE
I totally flunked it 😭 I'm never gonna get into my dream school 😭😭

Message from LEM💥
I'm sure you did fine, you're the fucking best after all

Message from I.M.HERE
You weren't there!! It was an absolute disaster 😭 I couldn't do anything during the practical!! There was so much competition and I didn't get the time to try anything 😫 If you need me, I'll be sulking in the corner of my room 😖

Message from LEM💥
Am I gonna have to tell you to reread some of your fic comments again to increase your self esteem?? I don't need to see to know you're amazing and you know it too

sides you can always go study literature of some language shit and become a professional writer. We both know you're fucking good at it

Message from I.M.HERE
Being a hero has been my dream since forever though 🥺 and I'm really not good enough to become a professional writer like?? This is just a hobby aislsbwkwl and I know you like the things I wrote but that doesn't mean everyone else does

Message from LEM💥
Are we seriously gonna have this discussion again?? Look at your fucking follow count, dumbass. Or your reads, your likes, your comments- THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES so no I'm not taking any bashing from you 😤 if your quirk is even a fraction as good, you'll make into that hero course for sure

Message from I.M.HERE
I dunno... But I'm stressed enough as is so can we please talk about something else 😫

Message from LEM💥
Sure thing, tell bout your new fic ideas

Message from I.M.HERE
Who says I've got any new fic ideas rn??

Message from LEM💥
You've ALWAYS got new fic ideas lol so tell me whatcha cooked up this time?

Message from I.M.HERE
Well I mean maybe?? 🤔 Not really a new fic idea but a new idea about a fic

Message from LEM💥
Care to explain??

Message from I.M.HERE
I was thinking of writing a few fics in English so more people can read them (and I can write about a lot of international heroes and stuff!!) but I don't know if my English is good enough for that... I wish I had a beta like all those big shots 😫

Message from LEM💥
English huh?? Ambitious I like it 😎 my English is decent enough so maybe I could beta for you (not like I won't read all of it anyway even if it's English)

Message from I.M.HERE
I wish!! Can't send docs through this message system remember?? Sucks tbh 😔

Message from LEM💥
Hm yeah I know

I'd be up to share my email with you tho, if you're okay with that

Message from I.M.HERE
WHUT 😳

Message from LEM💥
Only if you want to!! I mean we're strangers and all that but email is still better than social media or something like that cz it doesn't directly link to our real lives

You know what forget it, it was a dumb idea, I shouldn't have suggested it

Message from I.M.HERE
NO NO NO NO NO NO

I was just taken by surprise!!

Ofc I'd want you as my beta and email does allow us to send things more freely and afhgjkltsdbq I hadn't thought about that at all

I'll think about it

Message from LEM💥
Kay no pressure

I know you'd kick ass in English even without beta tho

Message from I.M.HERE
Hopefully I'll be kicking ass for real some time soon haha fingers crossed!! 🤞

Message from LEM💥
You don't need luck you got this in the bag!! Lemme know when you get your results

Message from I.M.HERE
Will do!! Thanks for believing in me 🥰

Message from LEM💥
Well you ARE my god so

Message from I.M.HERE
Ah yes my most faithful disciple 😇 I have to go now (need to train those muscles!! 💪😎) talk to you later 😘

Message from LEM💥
Alright don't strain yourself

xxxxx

They ended up exchanging emails. Well, no, Katsuki sent them his email, [email protected], and I.M.HERE was gonna send him one of his latest drafts for him to take a look at. Katsuki had never beta read anything like this before, but if his experience in having to look over some of the extra's English homework was anything to go by, he'd do just fine. Waiting was the worst part of it, because here he was, sitting in his bedroom, nervously bouncing his leg up and down as if any of this actually mattered. It was just fanfic. It was just a hobby, and nobody would be looming over his shoulder to grade him on his beta work.

So why was he so fucking nervous? Why did he have this awful foreboding feeling deep down in his gut that was screaming at him that this wasn't gonna end well... Probably just his perfectionism talking. Always afraid to fuck up when trying something new, always scared he wouldn't be good enough. He knew that even if he fucked this up, I.M.HERE wouldn't be mad about it. They would be super understanding if anything, dragging their own skills through the mud to make him feel better. That was just the kind of person they were, at least online.

The notification finally came in a couple of minutes later and Katsuki opened up his mail app in a matter of seconds, only to freeze up completely when he read the address.

Sender: [email protected]
Topic: Fic draft for my new beta reader!!

What. The. Fuck. No. No, no, no- Katsuki locked his phone, throwing it to the other side of his bed before small explosions popped up from his already smoking hands. He remembered- Of course he remembered- He knew Deku used to write little fics in those notebooks of his, thought he stopped, thought- Katsuki balled his fists and gritted his teeth. No. No, this was impossible. Deku couldn't be I.M.HERE, he just couldn't. It had to be some weird coincidence or something. I.M.HERE couldn't... I.M... Those are the nerd's fucking initials! It was a damn name pun and an All Might reference! Ugh!

Katsuki slapped his hands in his face, dragging the palms down over his skin as the last wisps of smoke disappeared. He'd been chatting with Deku online for weeks. He'd been fucking worried for him! Encouraged him for his entrance exams- Fuck! He was talking about the UA entrance exams! He was telling Katsuki he probably failed and Katsuki had said he would pass anyway, as if a quirkless nobody would ever be accepted into the hero course.

Izuku was smart and talented and yet it'll all go to waste just cause he lacks a quirk, that was a harsh truth Katsuki learned a long time ago. It was unfair, really, because deep down Katsuki knew Deku was better than him. That if he'd have a quirk, any quirk whatsoever, he'd be a better hero than him. If anything, his fics showed as much. Fuck, Katsuki should've realized sooner! Nobody else would be able to write about so many different quirks in such detail! Only the over analytical nerd could pull off something like that!

He tensed up again when he heard a notification pop up on his phone, knowing it was the nerd to ask whether he'd received the draft properly. What the hell was Katsuki supposed to tell him? Did he know..? No, there was no way Deku knew LEM was his username. If so, the nerd would've cut all contact already. Or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he'd see this as some kind of weir bonding thing or something. He'd always been a clingy bastard when they were children, after all. Another dinging noise pulled him out of thought, and he reached for his phone with some hesitation.

Message from I.M.HERE
Did you get the draft??

Are you reading it rn?? Let me know what you think!! 😊

How the hell was he supposed to react to that now that he knew it was Deku on the other side? Should he just act normal and act as if he didn't know? Katsuki enjoyed talking to him online up until now, liked the fact he didn't know who he was and acted so genuine with him, unlike all the other extras who only clung to him to raise their own power and influence. Maybe... As long as Deku didn't know...

Message from LEM💥
I got it! Can't wait to read it 😜

Yeah, maybe this much was okay... Katsuki sighed as he opened his email again, yet he couldn't help but grin and squeal when reading the first chapter of what promised to be another masterpiece.